A family cremated the body of a man they believed to be their missing son, only to receive a shocking phone call weeks later revealing he was alive and in jail. Ravi Kumar, 35, had disappeared from his home in India on 5 August, prompting his family to report him missing. Police later showed relatives photographs of a badly decomposed body found in a wetland area. Despite the corpse being difficult to recognise, the family identified him by his clothing.
Family identifies body by clothing
Ravi's brother, Amandeep, said: "Though the face was disfigured, we identified him by his clothes." The family cremated the body on 13 August and held a memorial service in Kapurthala, Punjab, two days later.
But on 2 September, they received a call from Kapurthala Central Jail. Staff told them Ravi was alive and had been held there since the day he disappeared. Amandeep said: "We were shocked and relieved at the same time."
Ravi's account of his arrest
Ravi later told his family he had been picked up by police for loitering on 5 August and transferred to the jail that evening. A senior officer said he had been arrested for bailable offences. Jail staff eventually contacted his family because nobody had come forward to post bail.
Relatives, from Kadupur village, rushed to the prison the following day and confirmed the inmate was indeed Ravi. His reappearance has left police wondering whose body the family cremated.
Police investigate unidentified remains
Police spokesperson DSP Sheetal Singh said: "We now have an unidentified corpse with no matching missing persons report and no clear leads. DNA testing isn't viable at this stage, so we are reviewing technical evidence, including cell tower dump data from the Kanjhli wetland, to establish the deceased's identity." He added that Ravi's family would be summoned for questioning. The investigation continues.
